View full size(Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)JaMarcus Russell leaves a preliminary hearing in his possession of a controlled substance case Wednesday, August 11, 2010, in Mobile, Ala. A friend of Russell's said the codeine discovered in Russell's home during a raid last month was his.

In a surprise turn Wednesday, a friend of JaMarcus Russell's took the blame for the codeine syrup found in the former Oakland Raiders quarterback's home during a police raid last month.

Russell, the 25-year-old who was released from the Raiders earlier this year, was arrested July 5 in Mobile and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Investigators who entered his River Forest Drive home with a search warrant said they found liquid codeine, which is used to mix recreational beverages sometimes known as "Purple Drank."

Marcus Stevenson, who said he's known Russell since he was 10 years old, testified for the defense in a Wednesday hearing that he -- not Russell -- mixed a codeine-laced drink found on a nightstand near Russell's bed.

Stevenson said they had partied at clubs during the night and were back at Russell's house hanging out. Under questioning by the prosecution, he said he wasn't sure how many codeine bottles it took to make the drink, but he said no one else was involved.

After the hearing, Stevenson was placed in handcuffs and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Despite the testimony, Mobile County District Judge Charles McKnight kept the case against Russell alive, sending it to a grand jury for consideration.

Mobile County Sheriff's Deputy Johnny Thornton testified that after entering the house at 2 p.m., he found a drink on a nightstand and Russell lying in his bed nearby.

"There was a Styrofoam cup sitting on the nightstand, and it had an orange-colored liquid in it," which later tested positive for codeine, Thornton said.

View full size(Press-Register/Mike Kittrell)Marcus Stevenson told a judge that he -- not JaMarcus Russell -- owned the codeine that was found during a July 5 raid of Russell's house in Mobile.

The drink appeared to be "freshly poured," Thornton said, and it "still had ice floating on the top."

Russell said the drink was his, but he claimed it was only Kool-Aid, prosecutors said.

A bottle of codeine was also found in a closet cabinet, prosecutors said, and the prescription was scratched off.

Two other bottles -- with codeine residue -- were discovered in an outside garbage can, and one was prescribed to a man in California, according to the prosecution.

There were nine people inside the house that day, Thornton said, including two women.

Thornton said Russell "said he didn't have any clothes on," and he was allowed to get dressed.

A rising star, Russell was selected No. 1 overall in the 2007 NFL draft. He won only seven games in 25 starts as the Raiders' quarterback and was released in May.

Russell, who also starred at Williamson High and Louisiana State University, is out of jail on $2,500 bail.

Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Geoffrey Alexander, after the hearing, said the surprise testimony doesn't change the prosecution's case.

Alexander said Russell already told investigators the cup was his.

"You can't then have a friend throw himself on the court when you've already done it," Alexander said. "It's not going to fly."

Russell's defense attorney Donald Briskman said he was disappointed in the judge's decision not to dismiss the case, but he declined further comment. Russell declined to comment.

In the request for the search warrant, Thornton said a "reliable confidential informant" told narcotics investigators that Russell had marijuana, liquid codeine, several handguns and $200,000 in cash. Thornton said the informant had previously given tips that "led to the seizure of large quantities of illegal narcotics and U.S. currency."

Possession of a controlled substance is a class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.